1992 FLIGHT International, 17 June 198 W rid news
New UK fighter could be ready in 1988
BRITISH AEROSPACE is seeking
financial support for a new combat
aircraft from company funds, the UK
Ministry of Defence and overseas
countries. Faced with the tailing off
of Tornado and Jaguar production
from the mid-1980s, the Warton divi
sion of BAe believes that, given ideal
conditions, a British fighter could be
ready for service in 1988-89; the date
would be later if collaboration is in
volved.
BAe has approached Sweden and
India with its P.106 single-engined
Light Combat Aircraft design, pro
posing collaboration on the complete
design or on certain areas. Swedish
industry plans a similar single-
engined design to replace Viggens in
the 1990s. It is seeking outside sup
port and has already contracted to
"borrow" MBB and Rockwell exper
tise on certain techniques. India re-
requires a 1990s light combat aircraft
but has little advanced design capa
bility.
BAe favours its P.110 family of
twin-engine fighter designs; this has
been developed from an idea first put
forward for the Royal Air Force Air
Staff Target 403. The designs were
refined later to match French and
German ideas for the now-def-nct
European Combat Aircraft. No
fighter money will be availai,.^ in
Germany for the next two or three
years; in Britain a realignment of the
offensive-support front line may leave
little or no room for a Jaguar re
placement.
Until UK defence-review results
are revealed, no one knows the fate
of the requirement to replace Jaguar.
It may be halved or it could dis
appear entirely. Faced with this un
certainty, BAe is in intense discus
sion with the MoD and potential over
seas customers, trying to drum up
support for one of the many options
available. The longer the process
takes, the more likely becomes an
RAF order for F-18s to replace
Jaguars from 1987.
The MoD broached the subject of
Saudi Arabian finance for the P.110
during King Khaled's visit to Britain.
Jordan and Oman have been linked
with the project, although BAe re
fuses to discuss which countries have
been approached. Warton division is
also seeking BAe private-venture
(p-v) funds for the project; it realises
that industry can support develop
ment of a combat aircraft for only
about 18 months. This may be time-
enough to produce tangible results,
including some form of technology
testbed.
Component suppliers are being
briefed on the fighter options and
may be asked to throw their weight:
and finance behind p-v work applic
able to a future fighter. So many
design, finance and collaboration
options are circulating that a clear
picture is unlikely to emerge for at
least another month. BAe has also
to decide what happens to super
sonic V/Stol development; this is un
likely to come to fruition until the
late-1990s, too late to fill the late-
1980s production.
While vectored thrust is the only
form of V/Stol technology to have
proved successful operationally, some ;
quarters feel that the concept, now
20 years old, has limited development
potential beyond the 1990s. Tilting
engines is one alternative that could
have greater development potential,
it is argued. The decision to buy ,
AV-8B advanced Harriers for the
RAF may lead to a supersonic V/Stol '
co-operation with McDonnell Douglas, t
but BAe believes a conventional air
craft is the immediate solution.
Apple and Meteosat 2 reach geostationary orbit
INDIA'S communications test craft,
Apple, and Europe's second weather
satellite, Meteosat 2, have success
fully reached geostationary orbit, fol
lowing their Ariane launch on June
19 (see story on page 2008). Ariane
placed the craft in a transfer orbit
and it was then up to each satellite's
boost motor to do the rest.
The European Space Operations
Centre at Darmstadt, West Germany,
successfully fired Meteosat 2's Mage
1 apogee boost motor at 0430hr GMT
on June 20 as planned. This was the
first use of the Societe Europeenne
de Propulsion-built motor, which is
being developed by the European
Space Agency. Meteosat 2 is now
drifting around the geostationary
orbit to its planned position of 0°.
India's Apple was due to have been
boosted into geostationary orbit
roughly 55hr after launch. The Indian
Space Research Organisation con
trolled the firing of the motor from
its SHAR centre, north of Madras.
This first (of three) Air Algerie Lockheed L-IOQ-30s is due to be delivered this month. The Super
Hercules is being certificated for civil duty in France and Germany as well as Australia, where
Cargomasters plans to use the type on a regional cargo network
M 6s for all?
PAKISTAN is to receive 15 General
Dynamics F-16s as soon as possible,
part of a $3,000 million US arms pack
age, partly paid for by US economic
aid and partly, it is thought, by Saudi
Arabian finance. The Pakistani Air
Force had requested F-15s. The Ser
vice operates French-supplied Mirage
IIIEs and Chinese-supplied Shenyang
F-6 (MiG-19) fighters.
Venezuela may be allowed to buy
between 16 and 24 F-16As. The coun
try has evaluated the F-16/79 export
fighter and the Israel Aircraft In
dustries Kfir-C2, but prefers the more
capable FlOO-powered F-16. The Vene
zuelan Air Force operates Mirage
IIIEs and 5s and secondhand F-86
Sabres and CF-5s.